“Come on, do it for the vine!” Malena encouraged as we made our way into the Fargo Dome, giddy about our very first concert experience. She was trying to get me to obnoxiously ask where Taylor (as in Taylor Swift) was while we waited to get inside, along with hundreds of other Swift fans. I agreed; it would make a pretty funny vine. I pulled out my phone, opened the application, switched the camera to the “selfie-side,” fixed my hair, and took a deep breath. There are a lot of people here. I’m about to look like a complete idiot. I started to chicken out. But the vine, though, the vine would be so good.
“WHERE’S TAYLOR?!” I yelled the question at the top of my lungs, then scanned the crowd with my camera, capturing the crowd’s reaction. I definitely got some glares from parents, along with some laughs from fellow Viners who understood what I was doing. I kept my head down, and tried to watch the video. The sound didn’t come through, a fairly common (and extremely frustrating) glitch on the app. Great. I made an idiot out of myself and had nothing to show for it. Do I try it again?
Of course. Anything for a vine. This time I decided to step my game up a bit. I walked right into the middle of all the excited little girls, their parents, and Taylor-obsessed teens inside the Fargo Dome and hand Malena my phone. She gives me a thumbs up, and again, I shout out a huge “WHERE’S TAYLOR?!” I made a few people jump, got a lot of stares, and, hopefully, a quality vine. Then a blonde, curly haired girl, about my age, walked by and an idea sparked in my head. This vine had more potential. I stole my phone out of Malena’s hand, and began to stalk down the Taylor look alike.
“WHERE’S TAYLOR?!” I yelled the question at the top of my lungs, then scanned the crowd with my camera, capturing the crowd’s reaction. I definitely got some glares from parents, along with some laughs from fellow Viners who understood what I was doing. I kept my head down, and tried to watch the video. The sound didn’t come through, a fairly common (and extremely frustrating) glitch on the app. Great. I made an idiot out of myself and had nothing to show for it. Do I try it again?
Of course. Anything for a vine. This time I decided to step my game up a bit. I walked right into the middle of all the excited little girls, their parents, and Taylor-obsessed teens inside the Fargo Dome and hand Malena my phone. She gives me a thumbs up, and again, I shout out a huge “WHERE’S TAYLOR?!” I made a few people jump, got a lot of stares, and, hopefully, a quality vine. Then a blonde, curly haired girl, about my age, walked by and an idea sparked in my head. This vine had more potential. I stole my phone out of Malena’s hand, and began to stalk down the Taylor look alike.
“Taylor! Taylor, is that you?” I said as I quickly followed her, trying to get her reaction on tape. She ended up not hearing me (or possibly ignoring me) because she didn’t turn around. Oh well. As soon as I went back to find my friend, another thought flashed in my mind.
“How funny would it be to go ask a security guard if he knows where Taylor is?” I wondered aloud. And then I did just that. I found someone who didn’t look too busy, walked up, and began part 3 of my vine.
“Excuse me, do you happen to know where Taylor is?”
“Taylor who?” Oh my gosh, do you know where you are right now?
“Taylor Swift, the girl putting on the show,” I patiently explained. The man laughed, and apologized, explaining that he hadn’t seen her. That was okay with me. I had my vine.
Here's the Vine:
This wasn’t the first time I had done something I normally wouldn’t do in order to make a vine, and it certainly wasn’t the last. I'm not the only crazy person doing this, either. In fact, "do it for the vine" has become a dare, a challenge even, among young people around the world. According to Urban Dictionary, “do it for the vine” means: “A term used by people making Vines, to do ANYTHING it takes for entertainment or comedic purposes.”
If you’re not familiar with this social media app, you’re probably wondering what “Vine” is exactly and why it makes people do such ridiculous things. Vine is an app available for iPhone and Andriod that allows users to "create short, beautiful, looping videos in a simple and fun way for your friends and family to see," according to the Apple App Store. Basically, you get 6 seconds to show your friends, or perhaps the entire Internet world, how funny, creative, musically-talented, and so on, you are. Users are able to browse videos organized into "channels," ranging from art to music to cats, with the most popular being comedy.
This is where the chaos begins. Scrolling through my Vine feed, it is clear to me that comedy vines are becoming more bold and more risky. Viners are no doubt looking for a way to become "Vine famous." Every one wants to be one of the lucky 6-second-entertainers out there who have gathered up thousands, even millions, of followers. You certainly don't reach millions from being boring. And so the phrase "do it for the vine" was born.
To me, "do it for the vine" is a dare. It's a challenge. I like taking on challenges. How much can I make my friends laugh? How many likes can a quick act of courage get me? It seems silly, but it's a rush. When I'm with friends and someone gives me a Vine idea, I feel compelled to do it. And the second they break out the "do it for the vine" line, I almost can't resist. It feels good when someone tells you a Vine you made was funny, it feels good to rack up a few likes from people you don't know. In a way, I look up to my favorite famous Viners like Trey Kennedy and Jerome Jarre. These two both have millions of followers, and all they did was step out of there comfort zones a little to make people laugh. You can't tell me it wouldn't be cool to be as funny, clever, and Vine famous as them.
This is where the chaos begins. Scrolling through my Vine feed, it is clear to me that comedy vines are becoming more bold and more risky. Viners are no doubt looking for a way to become "Vine famous." Every one wants to be one of the lucky 6-second-entertainers out there who have gathered up thousands, even millions, of followers. You certainly don't reach millions from being boring. And so the phrase "do it for the vine" was born.
To me, "do it for the vine" is a dare. It's a challenge. I like taking on challenges. How much can I make my friends laugh? How many likes can a quick act of courage get me? It seems silly, but it's a rush. When I'm with friends and someone gives me a Vine idea, I feel compelled to do it. And the second they break out the "do it for the vine" line, I almost can't resist. It feels good when someone tells you a Vine you made was funny, it feels good to rack up a few likes from people you don't know. In a way, I look up to my favorite famous Viners like Trey Kennedy and Jerome Jarre. These two both have millions of followers, and all they did was step out of there comfort zones a little to make people laugh. You can't tell me it wouldn't be cool to be as funny, clever, and Vine famous as them.
As much as I like to accept the “do it for the vine” challenge, the phrase never convinces me to do anything dangerous. As obnoxious as my vines get sometimes, I don’t believe the phrase is an excuse to harm myself or others. I understand that a 6-second video clip is not worth risking anything.
Obi Nwosu, on the other hand, had to learn this lesson the hard way. An avid Viner, Nwosu one day decided to make a vine trying to prove the black stereotype of athleticism. For him, this meant jumping over a moving car. As you can imagine, this did not end well for him, and the vine ends with a clip of him in an ambulance, urging his followers not to "do it for the vine." According to his Twitter feed, the extend of his injuries wasn’t too serious, just a cut to a bone and a few scrapes and bruises. The Viner also said he learned a huge lesson in common sense. In one tweet he explains that the act "was so incredibly stupid and selfish," and that it had "big consequences." Obviously, he realized that even the funniest of vine ideas sometimes aren’t worth it. He realized he put his life and his family’s well-being at risk, all for 6-seconds of Internet fame.
Obi Nwosu, on the other hand, had to learn this lesson the hard way. An avid Viner, Nwosu one day decided to make a vine trying to prove the black stereotype of athleticism. For him, this meant jumping over a moving car. As you can imagine, this did not end well for him, and the vine ends with a clip of him in an ambulance, urging his followers not to "do it for the vine." According to his Twitter feed, the extend of his injuries wasn’t too serious, just a cut to a bone and a few scrapes and bruises. The Viner also said he learned a huge lesson in common sense. In one tweet he explains that the act "was so incredibly stupid and selfish," and that it had "big consequences." Obviously, he realized that even the funniest of vine ideas sometimes aren’t worth it. He realized he put his life and his family’s well-being at risk, all for 6-seconds of Internet fame.
Here is the video. He actually deleted it off of Vine, but it's impossible to erase your footprint on the Internet, and I found it on YouTube. (This will probably make you cringe)
"Do it for the vine" has sparked tons of creativity, a little chaos, and sometimes a lot of stupidity amongst teens. The phrase has certainly gotten me to do some crazy things, which I will probably look back at in a few years and shake my head at. At the very least, it has provided my friends and I with a lot of entertainment and laughs. Would you do it for the vine?
Works Cited:
"Do it for the vine." Urban Dictionary. 2013. N. pag. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
Nwosu, Obi (brobii). "My decision today was so incredibly stupid and selfish. Good kids. Good families. Bad decisions. Big consequences." 15 Sept. 2013, 8:46 p.m. Tweet.
